Today there exist several methods for detecting new terminals/devices that enter a mobile network and send device configurations to these devices automatically.
The detection of new subscriber/device combination, in other words, new IMSI/IMEISV combinations and forwarding this information from MSC/SGSN to HLR has been standardized in 3GPP release 6. See ref [1] to [7] for more information. This detection method is usually extended with a non-standardized interface between HLR and a Device Management System that performs the actual configuration of the detected device.
One of these methods described in WO 03/096724 A1 is based on information collected in the SGSN node.
The existing solutions detect new IMSI/IMEISV combinations which identify new subscriber/device combinations that need to be configured for different services. The configuration of the devices is then executed using either OMA CP or OMA DM methods.
A drawback with OMA CP is the one way communication towards the device and it can thereby not be confirmed if the service settings have been accepted by the subscriber or not. This has been solved in OMA DM protocols since the configuration can be read from the device and it can be confirmed that the service settings have been accepted.
None of the methods for detection/configuration in the prior art can automatically detect if subscribers change or delete the GPRS settings in the device, for example by accident or after a repair/firmware upgrade.